Birthday Chicks

Chick Momma

Although her birthday is not until July, Evelyn has been talking about getting chicks for her birthday and having a chickie party. Since we were all stuck at home together, we decided to get chicks sooner rather than later to "free up" summer (at the time we had no clue these restrictions would last so long). But all the mail-order hatcheries were sold out for months, The Grange had canceled all chick sales for the year, and the smaller feed stores were sold out too! So what's one to do but hatch chicks oneself!?!?

Our incubator was finally delivered on May 5th and we had 6 eggs in it that very day! We waited...

The kids talked about the eggs often. We candled them and saw development. Burns was sure we would have 2 chickies and one lizard...I guess he thought the last three eggs were duds. 

Finally, on Monday morning we came downstairs to the sound of peeping!! One chick had hatched! The whole day was filled with checking the incubator! We watched the progression as the other eggs went from chirping to having tiny cracks called "pips", to lots of tapping all the way around, to wet floppy chicks pushing the shell apart into two perfect pieces! Within 12 hours of hatch the floppy wet chicks were active little puff balls. SUCH a fun experience!

A little ugly at first

Doesn't get cuter than this though!

We spent all day here

4 hatched, 2 to go!

Like I said, all day

Now the chicks are outside in their brooder box. They're doing well and have lots of opportunities to go on "field trips" to the grass or around the porch with the kids.  

Ev asked me to hold one so she could take a picture

My Experience as a Volunteer Provider

In the enclosed nurse's office where I could take my gown and gloves off.

**late post from May 17, 2020**

Dusting off the bin holding my scrubs, I reflected back on applying for my Washington nurse license. "Would you like to register as an Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioner?" the application asked. "Sure" click. It felt like a role I'd never be called on to fulfill. And yet, here I was, after one phone call, preparing to head to work the next day. I was pulling out my scrubs, freshening them up, and seeing how they fit after a season of neglect.

That was a month ago. I have now fulfilled my assignment, today was my last day assisting a facility to make it through a very difficult season. When I walked in on that Saturday morning I felt the weight, the grief, and exhaustion of the employees. I watched as the staff focused on the tasks at hand, knowing that many would succumb to tears again as they got in their cars to head home. I saw the shadow of what the facility had been, remnants of the cheer and fun...but now the halls were quiet and the elderly residents did not understand why they were not allowed out of their rooms. This virus was taking the lives of these beloved residents and although the staff was accustomed to end-of-life care, they never expected to be providing so much at once. 

Now things are different. The facility is still not back to "normal" but there is definitely a sense that the darkest days are over. I feel grateful to have had this experience, grateful to have had a chance to serve in this way and grateful for my husband who made it all possible by spending his weekends with the 4 creatures we call "children" after he already home-schooled them all week!